Bait ball - The Science of swarms Thanks to new observation technologies, powerful software, and statistical methods, the mechanics of collectives are being revealed. Indeed, enough physicists, biologists, and engineers have gotten involved that the science itself seems to be hitting a density-dependent shift. Without obvious leaders or an overarching plan, this collective of the collective-obsessed is finding that the rules that produce majestic cohesion out of local jostling turn up in everything from neurons to human beings. Behavior that seems impossibly complex can have disarmingly simple foundations. And the rules may explain everything from how cancer spreads to how the brain works and how armadas of robot-driven cars might someday navigate highways. The way individuals work together may actually be more important than the way they work alone.

British Wildlife photographer Christopher Swann swam in
the midst of a frenetic battle of life and death to capture these
images off the coast of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean.

Article (Extract) Link: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/03/powers-of-swarms/all/

The National Science foundation paper on swarming behavior and the Bait Ball phenomena: http://arxiv.org/pdf/1209.3330.pdf

Video link: Bluefin Tuna Eat Bait Ball

Link to the original work of the Photographer Christopher Swann: http://www.sciencephoto.com/static/features/1349-Bait-ball-frenzy.pdf

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